1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,080 Welcome to Common Ground One book. 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,720 We are so glad you've joined us for today's message. 3 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,760 Whether you're tuning in from home or catching up on another 4 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:11,360 go, we pray that this word encourages you, strengthens your 5 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:13,320 faith, and draws you closer to God. 6 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,040 If you'd like to learn more about our church, connect with 7 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,080 us or get involved, you will find all the details in the 8 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:21,720 description. Now let's dive into today's 9 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:22,440 message. We are looking today. 10 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:28,200 At I am the gate, the sayings of Jesus that I am sayings from 11 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:32,759 John's gospel, I've got I am the gates and I wanted to start by 12 00:00:32,759 --> 00:00:35,040 looking at something that doesn't really appear in this 13 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:39,600 text but will get us in there, which is TikTok and the the 14 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,000 events of last week where it was predicted. 15 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,680 According to my daughter, that's the second coming of Jesus was 16 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:47,880 about to happen and local is Laca. 17 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,520 It was a South African pastor who made this prediction that at 18 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,160 the end of September Christ is returning and the apocalypse it 19 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,000 seems did not take place as promised. 20 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,400 Nevertheless, online, certainly on in this sort of TikTok 21 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,160 environment, this snowball started to gather a whole lot of 22 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:08,360 of pace and it stuck things to it like the Charlie Kirk 23 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,960 assassination got in there. All kinds of bad news got stuck 24 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:14,560 in there. And and of course memes and 25 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,160 jokes and all the rest about the apocalypse that was about to 26 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,640 take place. Now, it's quite easy to look at 27 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,440 the bad news in the news and to, and to get a little bit 28 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,560 apocalyptic about things and to think, well, why doesn't God 29 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,400 intervene to remove the wicked or to do something about the 30 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,800 world's problems? And and that's gets us much 31 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,880 closer to, to at least the end of what we're going to conclude 32 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,200 from I am the gate. But you know, this problem of, 33 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,280 of, of wanting God to do away with the wicked, It won't 34 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,200 surprise you that this isn't new. 35 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,760 In fact, before the time of Jesus, there was a Jewish myth 36 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,280 that they call the Watchers myth, and it's associated with 37 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,120 an intertestamental book called the Book of Enoch. 38 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,440 And in this story, what has happened is they've reimagined 39 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:06,320 the story of Noah and the flood. So in Noah and the flood, as you 40 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,280 know, people's hearts are wicked at the start. 41 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:10,560 God judges the world. People's hearts are wicked at 42 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,800 the end. And so God comes up with another 43 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,800 plan. In this myth, they've imagined a 44 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,880 scenario in which God sends his avenging angels. 45 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,680 The avenging angels pick out all the wicked and do away with 46 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:24,800 them, leaving only the righteous behind. 47 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,320 And peace is the result. The problem is solved. 48 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,560 And, and wouldn't that just be how we would like to imagine 49 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:33,600 things? If God would just intervene to, 50 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,880 to to destroy the wicked, If God just erased evil doers and the 51 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:42,080 selfish bad leaders, our problems would disappear. 52 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,880 Well, I think what our text will at least do if not talk about 53 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:49,720 God destroying the wicked. You didn't remember reading that 54 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,440 in the Eye on the Gate section if you've read it before. 55 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,520 What our text does give us is a lot to say about good and bad 56 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,000 leaders. And it has some very important 57 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,920 things to suggest about the solution to bad leaders and what 58 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:04,960 it means for us to be good sheep. 59 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,040 So let me read for us John chapter 10. 60 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:09,760 You can turn there if you want to follow along. 61 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,720 I think I've got a slide. Very small text for you to 62 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:18,560 follow, but John 10 verses 1 to 10 reads like this very truly. 63 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:23,280 I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by 64 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:26,960 the gate but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a 65 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,840 robber. The one who enters by the gate 66 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,040 is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens for him, 67 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:35,200 and the sheep listen to his voice. 68 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,560 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 69 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,440 When he has brought out all his own, He goes on ahead of them, 70 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,200 and his sheep follow him because they know His voice. 71 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:47,480 But they will never follow a stranger. 72 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,760 In fact, they will run away from him because they do not 73 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,560 recognize a stranger's voice. Jesus used this figure of 74 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,880 speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was 75 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,160 telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, Very 76 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,240 truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 77 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,480 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the 78 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,680 sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate. 79 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:12,680 Whoever enters through me will be saved. 80 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,760 They will come in and go out and find pasture. 81 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,800 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 82 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,280 I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. 83 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,040 I'm going to pray one more time as we think more about this 84 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:30,960 text. Just bow with me for a moment. 85 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:35,320 Our gracious Father, we thank you that you are our Good 86 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,600 Shepherd, that you've shown us the way, and then through your 87 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:43,040 word, you've given us access to your will for us and directions 88 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:44,840 as to how to follow in your path. 89 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,480 So help us to be good sheep, good followers in your 90 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,000 footsteps. Open our hearts and minds and 91 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,400 our ears to hear today what you would say to us, and we pray 92 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,760 your blessing on our time together in Christ's name. 93 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:00,800 Amen. Well, as you might be able to 94 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,840 figure out from a series called the I AM Statements of Jesus, or 95 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:08,200 the fact that Jesus in John's Gospel keeps using the phrase I 96 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:13,720 am this or that, John's Gospel is discussing the identity of 97 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,400 Jesus. And I think by doing that, what 98 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,640 John is asking us to do is to ask the same questions. 99 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:24,800 Well, as it even says in Mark's Gospel, who do you say Jesus is? 100 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,680 I think what this text is trying to get us to do is to wrestle 101 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,080 with who Jesus is and who we are in relationship to Jesus. 102 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,040 So the the way that I thought maybe we should approach this I 103 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:40,080 am the gate section is to look at 4 portraits of Jesus. 104 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:45,120 And the first portrait is the romantic shepherd with me, his 105 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,960 precious sheep. Now, this, as you can see, is a 106 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:53,280 very popular topic for painters, for photographers, for people 107 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:57,520 perhaps with access to AI. And I think while my my first 108 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,320 instinct to look at these sorts of things is to, is to be a 109 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:05,360 little bit mocking and to poke fun at the sweetness of it all. 110 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,680 But I think it is trying to capture something beautiful 111 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,880 about who Jesus is. And I think I'm here for it. 112 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,240 And I think maybe Jesus likes these paintings. 113 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:16,200 I don't know. They're, they're awfully sweet 114 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,240 and awfully Caucasian. And it's very easy for us to 115 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:24,120 read a kind of artistic sweetness into the text as well, 116 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,040 if we have this sort of image of Christ as our shepherd. 117 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,400 And because we're generally, if you've been trained in Western 118 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,360 thinking in any way by watching American movies and so on, 119 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,920 generally we're individualists. So when we read a text like John 120 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,880 chapter 10 where Jesus is talking about his beloved sheep, 121 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:48,600 well, we do tend to focus on the phrases like Jesus is my 122 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:53,080 shepherd, Jesus talks to me, Jesus takes care of me and 123 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,720 protects me. But there are two very important 124 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,600 things about this romantic shepherd, romanticized shepherd 125 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:05,560 perspective that we will miss if we read these texts too much as 126 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,160 individuals. It's two things we'll miss that 127 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,120 I think are important. And the first one is this. 128 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,840 The first is that this text isn't about Jesus as my shepherd 129 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,520 and me as his sheep. If you're an ancient Israelite, 130 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:21,840 you're not hearing the shepherd cuddling beloved, beloved lamb 131 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:25,440 when you read this text. This is all about Israel's 132 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,680 leadership. Whenever an ancient Israelite 133 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:33,480 heard the idea of a shepherd of the Good Shepherd, what they're 134 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:38,040 thinking is metaphors for Israel's good and bad leaders. 135 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:43,160 And a text like Ezekiel 34, which I'll read to you now, is 136 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,920 the kind of text they would have been thinking of when Jesus said 137 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,760 these words to them. Here's what Ezekiel 34 says, and 138 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:56,400 a little bit of a spoiler alert. It does suggest that things are 139 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:58,880 going to be a little bit dark in this text. 140 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:04,520 Therefore you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord as surely 141 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,200 as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, because my flock 142 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:11,360 lacks a shepherd and has so been plundered and has become food 143 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,520 for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not 144 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,120 search for my flock, but cared for themselves rather than for 145 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,960 my flock. Therefore you shepherds, hear 146 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,560 the word of the Lord. This is what the sovereign Lord 147 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,640 says. I am against the shepherds and 148 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:29,520 will hold them accountable for my flock. 149 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,840 I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds 150 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,159 can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from 151 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:40,200 their mouths and it will no longer be food for them, for 152 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:41,720 this is what the Sovereign Lord says. 153 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,400 I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 154 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,440 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with 155 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,480 them, so will I look after my sheep. 156 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,880 I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered 157 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:56,760 on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the 158 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,200 nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them 159 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,160 into their own land. And so it goes on. 160 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,080 So when you look at a text like Ezekiel 34, well, what is it 161 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,240 saying about Israel's leaders? They just leave the sheep to be 162 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:14,280 scattered, to be attacked by wild animals. 163 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,040 In fact, they're predators too. Much like the wolves. 164 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,760 The sheep need to be rescued from the mouths of their own 165 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:23,040 leaders. Think we can relate to to some 166 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,960 of that around the world. And so when Jesus comes 167 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,320 announcing himself as the true shepherd, well, in this text, 168 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:31,360 it's God himself who does the search. 169 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,000 It's God who is rescuing his sheep and bringing them back 170 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,800 from exile. It's God who is caring for his 171 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,960 own people. So in John chapter 10, when when 172 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,800 Jesus says that he is the shepherd, he's announcing 173 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,960 himself as God's special chosen leader of his people, bringing 174 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,760 them back from exile. So we want to avoid a little bit 175 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:56,480 the the Jesus cuddling the lamb image and to think about who 176 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:00,000 Israel are as God's people and what his pattern of leadership 177 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,440 means for them. The second thing that we miss, I 178 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:04,680 think, and I want to deal with this very quickly, but I, I 179 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:07,480 think given the kind of person I am and the kind of community 180 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,560 common ground is, sometimes it needs to be said and you're not 181 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:13,920 going to like this. And I'm sorry, but we focus way 182 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,920 too much on the line. The sheep listen to my voice and 183 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:22,680 I heard it towards recently that that if we quieten down, if we 184 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:26,680 train ourselves to listen and if we, if we, you know, hear our 185 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:30,120 hearts, we can train ourselves to hear the voice of Jesus 186 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,800 speaking audibly to us. Jesus wants to speak and we just 187 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:37,800 have to learn how to listen. Now, I think some people, you 188 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,640 know, God can speak, does speak. Some people perhaps hear the 189 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,840 voice of God. I don't, and I've never met 190 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,720 anyone who does. And even though I grew up in 191 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,440 this, in this kind of background, so I don't come from 192 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:53,080 a cessationist group, but this text isn't talking about how God 193 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,920 reveals himself to us. So God may speak, but it's 194 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:59,080 certainly not this text that is telling us that he does. 195 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,720 Even if you think about the metaphor, when the sheep are 196 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,200 listening to the shepherd's voice, they don't understand the 197 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,760 shepherd's language. They recognize his voice. 198 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,960 They know how to stick with Him, and that's what matters. 199 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:14,120 So if you're the kind of person who does hear God's voice, 200 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:16,240 amazing. If you're not that kind of 201 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:20,080 person, don't feel discouraged. That's really all I want to say. 202 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,120 Say to you, it's the normal experience of Christians in 203 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,120 history that they do not hear God audibly. 204 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,720 We are all shepherded by God, but not spoken to, I don't 205 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:32,400 think, directly by God, at least not often. 206 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,760 So there is nothing wrong with you. 207 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,840 We walk by faith, not by sight or by sound. 208 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,560 OK, but enough of that. If this is about Israel's true 209 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:47,840 leader, then let's look at the second portrait, which is Jesus 210 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:52,760 as the true shepherd, the true shepherd who fights his enemies 211 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,840 and maybe ours. At least we would like it if 212 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,400 that were the case. Now if you are reading John's 213 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,800 Gospel early on, you'll see there's a lot of quite positive 214 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,960 things that starts off with the miracles in Cana that are 215 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:06,960 exciting. This through the the following 216 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:10,040 chapters, a number of miracles, some speeches of Jesus that we 217 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,560 might focus on and take encouragement from. 218 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,560 So if we're prone to dipping into the text and picking up the 219 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:18,960 highlights package, if you like, we will get from John's Gospel a 220 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,720 number of of interesting little bits and pieces. 221 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:26,680 But we might not notice then that in these chapters, Jesus is 222 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:28,800 continually fighting with people. 223 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,680 So in John chapter 5, he heals the lame man, but he immediately 224 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:37,480 comes into conflict with the Jewish leaders over the Sabbath. 225 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:41,920 Then in John six, he feeds the 5000 wonderful story, but he 226 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:44,360 immediately falls into fighting with the crowd. 227 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,800 Again, in John Chapter 7, his brothers goad him about going up 228 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,680 to Tabernacles, which we'll talk about it very briefly later, and 229 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:55,840 he gets into a fight with the Pharisees and the temple leaders 230 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:58,080 who send guards to try to arrest him. 231 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:03,360 Then in next page, then in chapter 8, he's fighting again 232 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,680 with the Pharisees and the Jews. And in Chapter 9 he heals the 233 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:11,160 man born blind and gets into the fight with the Pharisees again. 234 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,280 So there's a range of opponents that he's fighting with, from 235 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:17,360 the leadership at the very top to the people at the very 236 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:22,040 bottom, if you talk in that way. But Jesus is fighting with 237 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:25,600 pretty much everyone. Now, we have to be a little bit 238 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:30,360 careful when we think about the opponents of Jesus, right? 239 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,840 Because when we try to apply the Bible to our own time, what 240 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:36,560 we're effectively doing is making an analogy, right? 241 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:39,000 So this has happened in Jesus's day. 242 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,760 What is similar in our own day? And what lessons can we learn as 243 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:47,160 a result? Now, if we, if we think Jesus is 244 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:51,120 just fighting people who belong in the bad guy category, right, 245 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:55,000 good guys and bad guys, if Jesus is fighting the bad guys, then 246 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,160 if we're not careful, what we do is we go, well, who are the bad 247 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:02,960 guys in my day? And then I identify my enemies 248 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,400 or the people that I don't like. And I imagine that Jesus then 249 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:09,360 must be opposing them if he were here as well. 250 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:15,240 So Jesus becomes a team member of my opposition to my own 251 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,840 enemies. And so under apartheid, I hate 252 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,720 to bring that up, but under apartheid communism was evil. 253 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,880 And we might imagine as good Bible holding white people that 254 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,280 God hates the communists too. And that justifies all kinds of 255 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,000 things these days. We might think of members of 256 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,240 other religions as our enemies. We might think of people of 257 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,200 other sexualities as our enemies. 258 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,520 Who do you think don't answer, but who do you think is the bad 259 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:44,200 guy when you think of bad guys? But I think what we should 260 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:48,080 immediately start with is just to be careful not to assume that 261 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:51,240 Jesus fighting his enemies is going to translate to Jesus 262 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,560 fighting whoever fits into that category for you. 263 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,320 Because there are some really surprising groups. 264 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,760 John, chapter 6, looking at the opponents of Jesus here when he 265 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,360 feeds the 5000. Of course, there's this amazing 266 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,760 excitement about this miracle. Free food is always good. 267 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,040 But then what does he go immediately into saying? 268 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,600 And he doesn't get asked to say this stuff. 269 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:22,240 He just kicks off with this His followers must eat his flesh and 270 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:27,000 drink his blood, he says. People are of course, offended 271 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,120 by this, both because they don't understand what he means, but 272 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:32,640 also because they kind of do understand what he means. 273 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:35,920 They get offended. And it says at the end of this 274 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:39,640 little section from this time, many of his disciples turned 275 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:47,000 back and no longer followed him. So Jesus coming into his own 276 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,080 initiated conflict with his own people. 277 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,720 And then in John chapter 8, another interesting passage, 278 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:56,000 there's a disputed text, but a likely original text in which a 279 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:59,880 woman is caught in adultery and the people want him to treat her 280 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:05,280 as an enemy and he doesn't. He forgives her and and offers 281 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:07,680 her salvation, in fact, literally saves her life. 282 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,560 Then he gets into a fight with the Pharisees and it ends on a 283 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,680 positive note. It says even as he spoke, many 284 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,720 people believed in him. So you go, cool, That's, that's, 285 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,320 that's a fight that Jesus won. And look at the good fruit. 286 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:27,120 But the very next line to the Jews who had believed him, Jesus 287 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:31,120 said, if you hold my teaching, you are really my disciples, 288 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,280 then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 289 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,560 Then they get into a fight about what the truth is, and Jesus 290 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:44,720 says you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry 291 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,720 out your father's desires to kill him, to kill Jesus. 292 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,320 He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the 293 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,360 truth, for there is no truth in him when he lies. 294 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,600 And by implication, when you speak, he speaks his native 295 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:02,320 language, for he is a liar and the father of lies to the Jews 296 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:07,880 who believed Jesus said you belong to your father, the 297 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:14,520 devil. So Jesus is choosing in many 298 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,319 cases to enter into conflict. He wants to start a 299 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:21,040 confrontation about certain things, and he's doing so even 300 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,280 with people who believe in him or people who are numbered among 301 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:28,040 his disciples. So what does that say about you 302 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:28,880 and me? Then? 303 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,840 We might assume, and you're in the right place. 304 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:36,440 You, I think many of you will call yourselves Christians, so 305 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,720 you'll number yourselves on Team Jesus. 306 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:43,880 But you might assume that being on Team Jesus means that that 307 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:48,960 Jesus will be on our sides. And I think John is saying that 308 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,480 he doesn't want you to take that for granted. 309 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,840 I've already upset part of my audience. 310 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:01,160 So John doesn't want us to take for granted that the rebukes in 311 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,200 his gospel are heading out somewhere else. 312 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:07,680 He wants us to make sure that we're listening as well. 313 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:12,840 Even the good guys get Jesus wrong, and Jesus needs to get in 314 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:19,960 their face about it. So who is the bad guy in our 315 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,360 text? Well, it's the favorites, the 316 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:25,600 Pharisees and and the chapter break here doesn't do us too 317 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:27,520 many favors that that's often the case. 318 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:29,880 Nothing too heinous happens here. 319 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,160 But you can see that this text as well as positive as it 320 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,920 sounds, you know, a Good Shepherd cuddling a sheep. 321 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:38,800 All of those lovely images as as positive as it sounds in many 322 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:44,400 places it's coming on the back of conflict yet again. 323 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:49,640 So Chapter 9, verse 40, the last verse of the previous chapter 40 324 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,400 and 41, it says this. Some Pharisees who were with him 325 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,680 heard him say this and asked, what are we blind to? 326 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:01,800 Jesus said if you were blind you would not be guilty of sin. 327 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:06,080 But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains very 328 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,120 truly. I tell you, Pharisees, anyone 329 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,400 who does not enter the sheep and by the gates but climbs in some 330 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,240 other way is a thief and a robber. 331 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:17,880 So he's addressing this parable directly at the Pharisees 332 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,560 directly after calling them blind guides. 333 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,040 So now surely we have a legitimate bad guy. 334 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:26,640 We can say, well, we found our bad guys. 335 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:28,920 They're the blind guides, the bad leaders of Israel. 336 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,000 We know that they're legalists. We know that they're hypocrites. 337 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,560 We know that they're sinners and robbers according to to this 338 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,560 passage. But I think it wouldn't have 339 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,240 been obvious in Jesus's day that these should be treated as the 340 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:47,280 bad guys. So for one thing, Jesus himself 341 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,800 in the the Sermon on the Mounts, Matthew chapter 5, verse 20 says 342 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,160 this. For I tell you that unless your 343 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:56,240 righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers 344 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,720 of the law, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of heaven. 345 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,560 Now, if they're bad guys, if they're fake believers, that 346 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:07,080 verse doesn't work. That verse assumes that this is 347 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,880 the high point of the social order in terms of the followers 348 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:14,400 of God at the time. So the Pharisees are the top of 349 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,560 the pile, they're the peak. They're the ones who are trying 350 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,240 to keep the law perfectly and we go, well, that's bad. 351 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,720 We can't be saving ourselves by keeping the law. 352 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,760 That's legalism. However, books like Nehemiah 353 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:28,040 chapters 9 and 10, if you want to go and read Nehemiah 9 and 354 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,440 10, the conclusion that they make when they've come back from 355 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:35,160 the exile is that we went into exile because we broke the law. 356 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,120 And that's very true. We, we kind of shattered the 357 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:39,560 covenant. We didn't follow what God told 358 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:43,320 us to do, So what we're going to do is follow God as perfectly as 359 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,960 we can and then perhaps God will renew his covenant with us. 360 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,080 That's the conclusion of the book of Nehemiah. 361 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:51,840 And that I think is what the Pharisees are trying to do. 362 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,960 They're trying to be the best law keepers, the best followers 363 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,000 of God's word. Does that ring any bells that 364 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:03,600 they can possibly be? They've got it wrong, of course, 365 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:08,200 but Jesus critique is going to be very shocking, I think to the 366 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,000 people of his day. So if we're trying to find an 367 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,480 analogy for the Pharisees to apply to ourselves, I think it's 368 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:17,040 the very Christian Christians who are here. 369 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,120 I think it's the elders. I think it's the the holiness 370 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:24,280 people, the heresy hunters. I'm not saying all of your 371 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:26,840 elders are Pharisees or all of the good Christians here are 372 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,800 Pharisees. But that's the analogy, right? 373 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,280 Those are the people that the finger is being pointed at. 374 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:35,400 Nicodemus wasn't a bad Pharisee, but the finger goes towards him 375 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,200 in this text as much as anyone else. 376 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,560 So we have to listen. Jesus is pointing at the good 377 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,800 ones among us and telling us to listen. 378 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:50,200 So that what's happening in this text is that Jesus is fighting 379 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:54,800 very, very hard to avoid being misunderstood in an unfruitful 380 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:57,600 way. You know, he saves the 381 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:01,080 adulterous, but he tells his own followers that they're the 382 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:02,920 children of their father, the devil. 383 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:06,200 So I think Jesus has some interesting ideas about who the 384 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,520 good guys are and who the bad guys are. 385 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,440 And that puts us in a situation of needing to listen very 386 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:15,440 carefully and not to make assumptions when we talk about 387 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,600 our true shepherd fighting our battles. 388 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:22,080 How sure are we that he would fight the same battles that we 389 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:26,880 think he should be fighting? So what are our takeaways from 390 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,400 this little section? What does the portrait of Jesus 391 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,560 as the true shepherd mean for us? 392 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:33,920 Well, I think obviously and a sigh of relief. 393 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:39,240 It's good to follow the Good Shepherd, but John is asking us 394 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,480 to listen to his voice and make sure that we follow. 395 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,960 Jesus doesn't accompany us on our mission or fight our battles 396 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:50,040 for us. He's asking us to follow. 397 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,160 And secondly, Jesus's opponents were people like us. 398 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:59,080 We're not off the hook for the hard words in a passage like 399 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:02,240 this one just because it's addressed at the Pharisees. 400 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:07,280 Jesus wants true followers of the real hymn, and that's what 401 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,400 he's fighting for. He's willing to take the fight 402 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,240 to people like you and me because he doesn't want us 403 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,760 following a Jesus of our own imagination. 404 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,040 He doesn't want us to be people who only claim to follow the 405 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:21,760 truth but aren't aware of what the truth is or aren't willing 406 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:26,400 to do what it takes. Jesus wants true followers of 407 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:32,880 the real hymn. So having a had a little look at 408 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,600 Ezekiel, we've we've thought about Jesus as the Messiah, the 409 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,120 one who leads Israel back from exile. 410 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:42,880 So what about the next portrait, which is that of the royal 411 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:47,000 shepherd, the shepherd as king. Now the Pharisees don't 412 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,360 understand the first parable, so Jesus changes up the metaphor 413 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:53,960 from shepherd to gates. And Eric will be pleased to hear 414 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,640 that I am in fact addressing the I AM statement that I was given. 415 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,640 So let me read. Let me read this little section 416 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,280 again. Therefore Jesus said again, very 417 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,040 truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 418 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,320 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the 419 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,720 sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate. 420 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,240 Whoever enters through me will be saved. 421 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:19,920 They will come in and go out and find pasture. 422 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,560 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 423 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,560 I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. 424 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,400 OK, first thing to do is to ask what is a gate? 425 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:33,600 You know the answer, don't worry. 426 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,240 And what does it do right? But let's remind ourselves, a 427 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:38,760 gate is for security for the most part. 428 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,440 It prevents dangers from coming in and it prevents, you know, 429 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,960 sheep like creatures from wandering out into dangers out 430 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,800 there. The second thing a gate does is 431 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,000 that it acts as an access point, a passageway. 432 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,040 And so in the, in the, in the context of this story, it's 433 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,440 about entering safety or salvation. 434 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:00,840 And, and that's the way in, right? 435 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:03,440 You go into the enclosure for salvation's sake. 436 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:07,360 And it also gives you a way out so that you can be LED out by 437 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:13,640 day into pasture, into freedom. So that's what a gate does. 438 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,600 And, and Jesus, when he sums up, he says that as the gate, he is 439 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:23,880 unlike the thief who takes, he is a gateway into life and life 440 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,480 to the full. So that's what Jesus is 441 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,440 summarizing his identity as gates. 442 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:34,320 That's how he summarizes it. So again, as with the previous 443 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,240 portrait, this is good news for some people and bad news for 444 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:39,160 others. And we'll start with the bad 445 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:42,400 news. How can this be bad news for us? 446 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,760 Well, I think the fact that that Jesus is, if we take the royal 447 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:52,640 shepherd metaphor here, Jesus is kingship obviously comes into 448 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,400 conflict with the kings of our own kingdoms, right? 449 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,200 Our own little Christendoms, even church, it's horrible to 450 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:02,840 say, can become one's own little Kingdom. 451 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,080 Now, this might seem harsh because when you come to a 452 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,000 wonderful church like this, people are friendly and 453 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,240 welcoming, and when things are going wrong, they're helpful and 454 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:15,240 compassionate. Churches are usually loving and 455 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,440 generous but what happens when our kingdoms are challenged by 456 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:24,320 something even in church? Like when the church that I grew 457 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,840 up in not a common ground church, you won't know it and 458 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:28,680 affiliated. I was friends with the youth 459 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,600 leader who was also the pastor's son and he did music leading in 460 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,560 the church service as well. And a small story but he would 461 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,560 report how when he was singing. I think he had a good voice and 462 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,240 was a decent musician, but over keen and maybe a little bit 463 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,200 loud, he reported how often he saw people grimacing at him or 464 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,280 scowling or trying to discourage him. 465 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,880 By the looks that came back, maybe he's projecting, Who 466 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,600 knows? Maybe the music leaders here can 467 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,040 say whether they've had similar experiences. 468 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,640 I have no idea. But it just seems like people 469 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,560 from the pews can sometimes have their own preferences, at least 470 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,160 challenged and that doesn't go well. 471 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,120 But the same guy. So his father is the pastor, 472 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:09,440 right? When he he was a volunteer, 473 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:11,680 this, this youth pastor was a volunteer. 474 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,360 He wasn't employed and eventually things became too 475 00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:15,920 much. He had a career, he had moved to 476 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,320 another neighborhood. So he decided that it was time 477 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:22,440 to go to a church outside of his father's shadow and and 478 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,560 somewhere in his neighborhood. And so he decided to leave. 479 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,280 And his parents did not take that well. 480 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,760 They cut him and his children off, never spoke to them again, 481 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:34,920 and still to this day are estranged. 482 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,840 Then I've got a friend from a previous denom who was part of 483 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:43,400 of a church. He was the second pastor and was 484 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:47,040 tasked with planting a church in a nearby neighborhood. 485 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:50,240 He went and did that. They had got the mandate from 486 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,360 the the elders that this is what they would do. 487 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,280 They had made promises to the people in that community. 488 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:59,160 But then the pastor, the head pastor retired and a new guy 489 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:04,000 came in and the new guy wanted to rather put the extra funding 490 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,520 into the children's ministry. And so he cancelled the church 491 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,600 plant. And this pastor said, well, 492 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:13,360 promises have been made. We can't do that. 493 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:16,440 So they got mediation in and these mediators were the heads 494 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:19,720 of the denomination and they were very good friends with the 495 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:23,000 new lead pastor. So what happened was, and I, 496 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,040 this sounds to me like it couldn't possibly happen in a 497 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:28,000 church, but This is why I bring it up. 498 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,200 What happened is they said said to him, you resigned from this 499 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,040 church and moved to the neighboring church on the other 500 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:38,520 side. This church leader is happy to 501 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,520 be your pastor and you can plant from out of his church. 502 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:44,840 All very good. So the friend resigns and then 503 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,400 everybody forgets they ever said that to him. 504 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,040 And so they said to him, why did you resign? 505 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,280 You now don't have a job. But what are we going to do? 506 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:56,160 Like, I mean, just don't let him resign. 507 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:57,480 But anyway, what are we going to do? 508 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:01,120 And they left him to then labor on his own. 509 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:02,920 They left. They shut him out from the 510 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,320 church, shut him out from the denomination, tried to get him 511 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,480 to resign his ordination, and he's now planting that church by 512 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:14,760 himself. So yeah, what happens when our 513 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,640 kingdoms are challenged? We all know what it what it 514 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,000 sounds like, or we know the the command to renounce our own 515 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:22,800 kingship. When we follow Jesus, we know 516 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:27,920 that we're supposed to become servants, but our own kingdoms 517 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,480 are very powerful competition for God's Kingdom. 518 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:36,360 So what we often do is just our own thing, and then we try to 519 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,400 find ways to justify it to God afterwards. 520 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,240 So that's the bad news of Jesus Kingdom. 521 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,240 What is the good news of Jesus Kingdom to us? 522 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:51,080 Well, let me again, as is my style, start somewhere weird. 523 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,400 What if you came across a person who was claiming to be a God? 524 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,000 Such people do exist. We've already had fake 525 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,840 apocalypses. What about someone who thought 526 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:02,800 they were God? Like, what would you think? 527 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,880 And what would you imagine their motivations would be? 528 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:07,400 What are they going to be doing next? 529 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,160 Well, I think we usually would imagine that person wants to be 530 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,960 put in a new category so that they can have power for 531 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,560 themselves and be held to different rules, right? 532 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:21,240 That's, that's generally what's going on there. 533 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:26,320 So the reason why Jesus's kingship is good news is because 534 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:30,360 Jesus is not at all like that. He's not about having power or 535 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:34,520 the right titles. He's got very other motivations 536 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:38,400 for claiming this kind of high position, this status of 537 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:42,680 Messiah, God's chosen king, perhaps even divine status for 538 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:45,720 himself. And he keeps comparing himself 539 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,440 to the false leaders who steal, kill and destroy. 540 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:53,000 And Jesus gives a description of his own kingship that sounds 541 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,200 like this. Well, he's known and recognized, 542 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,360 and people follow him because they want to. 543 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,320 Isn't it a lovely feature of the Gospels that the prostitutes and 544 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,200 tax collectors come to Jesus on their own? 545 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:06,040 They want to have a meal with him. 546 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,120 So he's known and recognized and followed willingly. 547 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,720 He keeps the flock safe. So as a gate, he, you know, 548 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,280 keeps them in and protects them at night, but he also then leads 549 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:20,240 them into freedom. I think that's an important 550 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,640 aspect of this text. He leads them into the posture 551 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:26,720 in the daytime when it's safe. They have freedom when it's 552 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,080 safe. And if you read Paul a lot, 1 of 553 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:31,880 the things that has only occurred to me kind of much 554 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,320 later in my walk, if you leave read Paul's letters, the thing 555 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:39,280 that he keeps fighting people about, not the only thing, but 556 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,440 one of the big things is freedom. 557 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:45,280 He keeps telling people stop making the Christian faith or 558 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:50,840 religion in general a constraint on people like in Galatians 5. 559 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,480 It says it is for freedom that Christ set us free, says Paul. 560 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:59,160 Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by 561 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,400 a yoke of slavery. If people are trying to stop you 562 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,640 being free, don't listen to them. 563 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:11,840 So Jesus comes to give his sheep life to the full life and 564 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:14,880 eternity. Yeah, like eternal life is for 565 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,320 the future. But in John's Gospel especially, 566 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,680 it overflows now to others. It's about spreading life here 567 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:25,880 and now as well. And then finally, Jesus lays 568 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:32,760 down his own life for the sheep. So Jesus's big claims here are 569 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:36,640 not about making himself the greater, but about serving his 570 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,560 sheep. It's about doing things for his 571 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:41,680 people. And you know, it's easy for 572 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:45,800 people to say politicians on the election path, how much good 573 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:47,360 they're willing to do for their people. 574 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:49,760 And then it doesn't actually materialize. 575 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:53,000 But if you've read the rest of John's gospel, you will see that 576 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:58,360 Jesus actually lived it. Jesus is the servant shepherd, 577 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:00,880 which will be our next portrait in a second. 578 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:03,160 So what are the takeaways from this section? 579 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:06,080 Well, easy one. Renounce your own Kingdom. 580 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:12,040 We often think that Jesus is the honorary king of our lives as 581 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:14,320 long as he stays out of our business. 582 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:18,960 That is not a kingship. So for you, renounce your own 583 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,080 Kingdom. If you're one of the leaders of 584 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:24,680 this congregation or a congregation, it would be 585 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:26,560 wonderful. You've just, you know, got a new 586 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:28,360 pastor. It would have been wonderful if 587 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,560 that pastor were Jesus. You've got Eric, and that's good 588 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:36,080 as well. But Eric is one of Christ's 589 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:38,160 under shepherds. All of us who are leaders have 590 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:42,120 been delegated this, this authority, this responsibility 591 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:45,720 for guiding Christ's sheep. And that means leaders have an 592 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:50,600 extra responsibility, as James points out, for guiding people 593 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,360 in Christ's ways and for living according to Christ's example. 594 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,560 So if we, if I can remind you, Jesus protects, Jesus gives 595 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:03,160 freedom, Jesus gives pasture, Jesus gives life. 596 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,640 So to the church leaders here, to Eric for your new tenure. 597 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:13,239 Rather than using this position as something that that 598 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:17,360 underwrites your own platform and power, this should be a 599 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,880 platform for the care of people. Rather than being someone who 600 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:25,880 enriches yourself, you should use the resources of this 601 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:28,400 congregation to see people flourish. 602 00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:34,360 Rather than using the pulpits to exercise control and authority, 603 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:40,560 let it be a vehicle for Christ's life, goodness, and freedom. 604 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:46,400 It's very easy for an organization to be molded into 605 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,800 the shape of the under shepherd rather than the true shepherd, 606 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:54,080 isn't it? Rather than being formed into by 607 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:56,840 Christ into disciples of the true royal king. 608 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:01,200 So I really hope that the common ground Weinberg grows and 609 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,520 prospers, that your numbers double and triple and all of 610 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:05,600 those good things. But I don't think that really 611 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,480 impresses Jesus all that much if that were to happen. 612 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:13,400 I think what does impress Jesus is when leaders learn from his 613 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:18,040 example and where the you, the sheep that are here flourish 614 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,160 under the care of the leadership that he's put over you. 615 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,800 So let it never be that what this text says of the bad 616 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:27,440 shepherds, that the people flee from them. 617 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:31,160 Let it never be said of your church leaders that the true 618 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:39,600 sheep need to flee from you. So looking some more at Jesus as 619 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:42,760 the gate, let's look at our 4th and final portrait very quickly. 620 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:47,720 The servant shepherd. So one more thing about a gate 621 00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:51,000 is that a gate is an exclusive entry point. 622 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:55,840 This beautiful photo shows the the uselessness of having a gate 623 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:57,880 when there are other pathways available. 624 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:04,320 Now usually when we think of Jesus as the way, the truth and 625 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:06,920 the life, which is how we would connect these things, Jesus as 626 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:11,480 an exclusive gate, we think of him saying that he is the only 627 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:13,400 way to God, as that does in that text. 628 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:14,800 And I think that's of course valid. 629 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:17,320 Jesus being the way, the truth and the life. 630 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,360 No one comes to the Father but through him. 631 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:22,760 But it's a little bit strange in this text that he's been 632 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,520 speaking for so long about his service that he gives to the 633 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:28,720 sheep. It's so much counter to someone 634 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:31,440 trying to gain titles for themselves and gain power for 635 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,760 themselves that he should then switch over to say, well, you 636 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,320 then have to come by me. Only it's kind of against the 637 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:41,400 not very power hungry tone of the rest of the passage. 638 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:43,960 So. So what does it mean here that 639 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,840 Jesus is the gate? I don't think it's about Jesus 640 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:49,280 wanting to make himself the center of attention, for 641 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:53,520 example, in keeping with all the fighting he's been doing. 642 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:58,920 I think what this is trying to do here is to say that the kind 643 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,560 of kingship and the way to flourishing under this king 644 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:05,760 depends on understanding him in a very particular way. 645 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:11,760 You have to understand the real Jesus, he refuses, and that's 646 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:14,720 why he's fighting with people, to be forced into the wrong 647 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,840 pattern. So let's go back to that 648 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:21,240 Tabernacles story that I said I would bring up, which I think 649 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:24,040 explains it wonderfully well. But it's a kind of a weird 1. 650 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:28,000 And that's another reason why I like to talk about it, because 651 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,680 the weird stories always intrigue me. 652 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:34,560 So you've got in John Chapter 7, the account of Tabernacles where 653 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:36,480 Jesus is contending with his brothers. 654 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:39,800 Again, they say to him, if you're this great public figure, 655 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,200 why don't you go up to the feast and show yourself to the world. 656 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:47,120 And what does Jesus say? Well, he says, I'm not going up 657 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,280 to this feast because it's not yet my time. 658 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:52,400 All very well, that sounds good. Fighting with brothers is 659 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,040 normal. But then Jesus goes and you're 660 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:56,840 like, what? You said you weren't going to go 661 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:00,360 and now you're going. It's, it's also, I must say the 662 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:02,960 brothers didn't believe in him, which is why they're goading. 663 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:06,840 But it's, it's a very strange text says as time has not yet 664 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:09,360 come, but he goes now. There's two very important 665 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,280 details that you need to be able to understand what's going on 666 00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:15,600 here, in my opinion anyway. And that is firstly, what kind 667 00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:18,760 of feast Tabernacles is. Well, it's a harvest festival. 668 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:22,920 But leaving that aside, in the Torah the king every 7th year 669 00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:27,560 would stand up at Tabernacles and read the read the law and 670 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,120 pronounce the blessing upon the people and the release from 671 00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:32,600 slavery, right? So it's the King's job to stand 672 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,040 up and read Torah every 7th Tabernacles. 673 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,440 Now they haven't had a king, a real king anyway, for 500 years. 674 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:44,920 So when his brothers tell him to go up to Tabernacles and show 675 00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:47,600 himself to the world, I think they're saying, well, if you're 676 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:51,080 toying with this idea of being their king, why don't you go do 677 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:53,680 what the king does and see what happens. 678 00:38:56,160 --> 00:38:59,480 The other detail that you need to know is that when in John's 679 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:03,560 Gospel it says his time had not come, or when he talks about 680 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:08,440 being lifted up or exalted, what it's talking about is the cross. 681 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:11,080 Jesus. Time is the time of his death, 682 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:14,000 and he's very well aware that his mission will end in death. 683 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:19,480 So when Jesus says he's not going to Tabernacles in that way 684 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,800 really because his time hasn't come, what he means is 685 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:26,880 Tabernacles isn't the right feast at which to announce 686 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:30,560 himself as king. He's not that kind of king. 687 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:33,760 What feast does he announce his kingship at? 688 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:41,240 Well, it's Passover, isn't it? So what Jesus is saying by not 689 00:39:41,240 --> 00:39:45,880 going up to tabernacles for this purpose is his kingship is not 690 00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:50,320 as Israel's royal shepherd. He is not there as their 691 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:52,880 shepherd. He is there as their Passover 692 00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:55,920 lamb. That's the kind of king he 693 00:39:55,920 --> 00:40:02,440 insists on being understood as. So I am the gate does not mean I 694 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:07,520 am the only one that matters. Rather, it means that his death 695 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:11,200 is the only way to pull down sins barriers, to have that 696 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:13,640 pathway to God to pasture if you like. 697 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:18,720 But it also means for us that his pattern of self sacrifice, 698 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:21,920 his service to the point of laying down his life, that 699 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:24,760 pattern. Is the true pattern that gives 700 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:30,120 life as well so his death makes life possible and it gives us 701 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:34,200 the pattern for spreading life That's why we need to understand 702 00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:40,600 Jesus as a Passover king and so to our conclusion think I've 703 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:46,240 done OK time wise so our conclusion a bad world and good 704 00:40:46,240 --> 00:40:49,480 sheep. Now, I started out saying I'm 705 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:52,680 the kind of person who looks at the state of the world and goes, 706 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:58,920 you know, why can't God just unseat that leader, take that 707 00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:03,000 person away, rapture, you know, the wrong kind of people so that 708 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,680 we can be left with the good ones to lead us instead. 709 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:10,040 Why does God tolerate it when evil leaders wave their hands 710 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:14,440 and thousands or 10s of thousands of lives are lost and 711 00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:18,800 we're OK with that? But then when I think like that, 712 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:22,160 I go, well, is that really going to make any difference? 713 00:41:23,560 --> 00:41:28,280 Where do such people come from? How do they have so much support 714 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:31,800 behind them? And when you think of that, then 715 00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:34,680 you have to conclude, well, leaders are just former sheep, 716 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:38,080 are they not? And the character of the 717 00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:42,680 sheepfold determines, determines the character of the sheep. 718 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:46,560 So as they say, we get the leaders we deserve. 719 00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:50,440 Or to put it another way, if we were to cut the head off of this 720 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:53,760 particular beast, seven more heads just sprout in their 721 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:57,920 place. So God may choose once in a 722 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:04,200 while to to remove the corrupt shepherds or to to depose evil 723 00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:05,800 leaders. But it's a little bit of a 724 00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:10,280 pointless strategy unless there are true sheep who are listening 725 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:12,160 to the voice of the Good Shepherd. 726 00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:17,960 Because someone has to be doing that hard daily work of shaping 727 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:24,400 the places, the sheepfolds, so that they reflect the life of 728 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:27,080 God. Because good leaders come from 729 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:31,080 good societies. Bad leadership is inhibited by 730 00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:34,640 good societies. And when you look at what God is 731 00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:37,720 trying to do in the world, while all of God's interventions 732 00:42:37,720 --> 00:42:41,000 sending Christ being chief among them, all of God's interventions 733 00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:45,840 are about building places like this that are pockets of God's 734 00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:49,320 hope and love and goodness. And the more that we spread that 735 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:53,840 out, the more that the world takes on the shape of the Christ 736 00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:58,320 who created it. So God has given us this pattern 737 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:02,440 in Christ to walk through that gate, to follow Christ in dying 738 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:06,920 to ourselves, so that we can live even now the pattern of 739 00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:11,920 eternal life and start that domino effect of transforming 740 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,640 the one next to us, the neighborhood next to us. 741 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:19,720 So if we want to be a Society of truth tellers, we have to be 742 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:23,240 people who live the truth. If we want to be a Society of 743 00:43:23,240 --> 00:43:26,880 life and health, we have to give life to others. 744 00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:31,760 If you want to belong to a changed world, you have to be a 745 00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:37,040 changed person. And that's where Jesus the gate 746 00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:41,680 leads us. Our gracious shepherd, we thank 747 00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:46,800 you for your grace to us, that you are one who leads us out 748 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:51,120 into pasture, who even in the the midst of our enemies, in the 749 00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:55,320 valley of the shadow of death, that you bring life and that you 750 00:43:55,320 --> 00:43:58,840 offer it to us freely. Help us not, Lord, to be the 751 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:02,480 kings and the shepherds of our own lives, but to follow behind 752 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:07,560 you into true places where life can can flourish and where we 753 00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:10,320 can become agents then of your life to others. 754 00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:16,720 And help us to lay aside our selfishness, to be people who 755 00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:20,720 sacrifice in order to bring about the good that we want to 756 00:44:20,720 --> 00:44:23,440 see in the world. So we thank you for the pattern 757 00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:25,240 you've given. We thank you that you are the 758 00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:28,560 King of Passover. We thank you that you have 759 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:32,800 forgiven our sins and given us the shape of life to bring life 760 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:34,880 to others. Help us to walk through that 761 00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:37,040 gates this week and on into the future. 762 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:42,080 We ask in the name of Christ. Thank you for listening to 763 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:44,720 today's message. We hope you are encouraged and 764 00:44:44,720 --> 00:44:46,840 challenged in your faith. If you're in the Southern 765 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:50,000 suburbs, would love to welcome you in person at one of 766 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,280 ourselves. Don't forget to subscribe, share 767 00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:55,480 this message with a friend and stay connected with us on social 768 00:44:55,480 --> 00:44:57,640 media for more inspiration throughout the week. 769 00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:01,040 Until next time, stay clear and keep shining your light.